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Holmes Beach Commission weighs in on consolidation

Holmes Beach Commission weighs in on consolidation

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Community News, Featured, Holmes Beach.

HOLMES BEACH – Holmes Beach city commissioners discussed the Florida Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Account­ability (OPPAGA)’s consolidation study on Nov. 14, which lists the city of Bradenton as a possible annexation destination for Holmes Beach, Anna Maria and Bradenton Beach.

Reading aloud a statement, Com­missioner Greg Kerchner said, “When I offered up my last soliloquy, I poured out my concerns over the influence of local developers, about state and county politicians not having our best interests at heart and about the threat of a consolida­tion being forced down our throats.

Holmes Beach Commission weighs in on consolidation
Commissioner Greg Kerchner stressed the importance of providing OPPAGA with all the pertinent facts. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

“But maybe we can turn this threat into an opportunity. Our job now must be to help the evaluators follow their own guidelines. We must ensure that they learn the unblemished truth about what has already transpired and must guarantee that they have all the facts they need to reach fair and just conclusions so that their recommendations are in the best interests of everyone involved, islanders and off-islanders alike,” Kerchner said.

“We need to wipe away any taint of political wrangling by clearly and fairly highlighting the relevant facts while insist­ing that all pertinent issues are considered. Unfortunately, this includes all the issues around visitor parking in Holmes Beach, which, for whatever reason, continues to play an outsized role in all our interactions with legislators and other governments,” Kerchner said.

Commission Chair Terry Schaefer said the consolidation of the Island cites would be “the granddaddy of destruction and overriding home rule in our community.”

Commissioners also discussed state­ments that Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth and State Rep. Will Robinson Jr. (R-Bradenton) made the previous week regarding the study.

Titsworth said she hadn’t planned on addressing the OPPAGA study again until she read Robinson’s comments in the newspaper.

“Just because they’re saying something doesn’t mean it’s true. Just because they keep repeating the same thing doesn’t make it any more true. I don’t know how to respond to this continued narrative – and it’s always directed at me, it’s always directed at our city. We are upholding our charter, our comprehensive plan, our land development code. We care about quality of life. We are showing up to work every day,” she said.

“They keep pointing at the mayor that’s ‘putting up roadblocks,’ the mayor’s ‘that’s not doing what she says.’ I have done every single thing that’s been asked of me except putting unlimited parking in our residential districts. Name me one coastal community that has unlimited parking. There are none. We’ve proven that we have excess parking on any given day. Everybody who wants to can come right now; they just don’t want to because there’s too much congestion and traffic,” Titsworth said.

She noted the city recently created addi­tional public parking spaces along Holmes Boulevard. She also noted she previously took Manatee County commissioners George Kruse and Jason Bearden on tours of the city’s available parking spaces.

“During that peak season tour, there were empty parking spaces in our city right of ways. I showed him (Kruse) the church parking available for overflow. He was amazed. Same thing with Bearden. Spring break, height of season, there were empty parking places everywhere. How can you continue to say we’re preventing families from coming out here? It’s wrong and I’m over the false narrative,” Titsworth said.

Titsworth said the consolidation study is “a power grab from the top down” being driven by state legislators and not by the Island residents and property owners who will have no input on the consolidation study requested by Robinson, Sen. Jim Boyd and the other members of the Manatee County Legislative Delegation.

Titsworth said all three Island cities are thriving.

“Why wouldn’t somebody want the city of Holmes Beach?” she asked. “We have zero debt. We have $12 million in reserves. At a height limit of 36 feet, we have a $3 billion taxable value in our little city of Holmes Beach. The city of Anna Maria is $2 billion. The city of Bradenton Beach is $1 billion. Our three tremendous little cities equal the taxable value of the city of Bradenton and all their high rises and everything else.”

According to the Manatee County Property Appraiser’s Office, the total taxable value of all Bradenton properties in 2023 is $5.91 billion. The total taxable value of all Anna Maria Island properties is $6.15 billion.

The current millage rates in Anna Maria and Holmes Beach are 2.05 mills. The current millage rate in Bradenton Beach is 2.3329. Bradenton is 5.8351 mills and Manatee County is 6.2326 mills.

“Consolidate us into the city of Braden­ton, they just doubled their taxable value. This is not about parking. It has never been about parking. It’s about doing what they want to do,” Titsworth said. “I don’t want to play these games. I want them to leave us alone. I promised OPPAGA we are going to work with you and give you every single thing you want from our city. We are a good city. We have so much to be proud of and we have every right to continue to be a city that serves the people who want to be here.”

Titsworth refuted Robinson’s statement that the Holmes Beach population has declined.

“That is not true. Our population is increasing, and it’s because of the hard work of our commission and our boards; and because it’s paradise out here,” she said.

In his recent statement, Robinson said he would support maintaining the height limits currently established in each of the three cities’ charters.

Earlier this year, Robinson co-sponsored state legislation that allows Manatee County to build a three-story parking garage at Manatee Beach in Holmes Beach.

“Representative Robinson said he’d respect the limits we have right now, but he told me if he could have had six stories, he could have gotten 1,500 to 1,700 parking spaces,” Titsworth said.

Holmes Beach Commission weighs in on consolidation
Commission Chair Terry Schaefer believes the consolidation study is motivated by financial interests. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

In support of Titsworth’s comments, Commission Chair Terry Schaefer said, “The commission stands squarely behind you. It seems like some legislators have forgotten where they came from.”

Schaefer expressed confidence that the information provided by each of the three Island cities would support their continued operation as independent cities.

“I was encouraged to hear elected officials will be interviewed. I was discour­aged to hear the plan is not to hear from the public,” he said.

Shaefer said he’s been researching the city of Bradenton and Manatee County regarding their debt obligations and financial reserves.

“It’s an eye-opener, folks. Strong positive reserves in all three Island cities. Not so much the case in the alternative. I don’t have any doubt that the whole motivation is financial. I think the garage was a smokescreen. I think it was an issue that they took up to try to taint and create ill will to divide people from off-Island and those of us who live and serve here. I think it backfired,” Schaefer said.

“If anyone is wondering why, the why is the money and the dissolution of charters. Height restrictions go away. If you don’t think there are aggressive developers out there who wouldn’t like to have an op­portunity to build something higher than 36 feet in our city and on our beaches, pay more attention to what’s happening where communities don’t have control,” he said.

On Nov. 16, the city of Holmes Beach received a request for information letter from OPPAGA. That letter can be read here.

Related coverage:

 

Anna Maria officials discuss consolidation study

 

Annexation into Bradenton a consolidation option

 

Unique country store opens

Unique country store opens

Written by Jason Schaffer on . Posted in Business, Retail.

HOLMES BEACH – Located in the former Island Gallery West at 5368 Gulf Drive, the new Edibles N More Old Time Country Store isn’t a traditional hemp product retailer.

Owner Mel Wendel says while many people are praising the benefits of hemp-based edibles and other hemp-based products for their personal wellness, they are often uncomfortable with the kind of stores that sell them. Her goal was to change the way people shop by integrating these federally legal products with an old-time country store.

“We didn’t want to bring a vape store mentality over to Anna Maria, because we know how special the Island is,” Wendel said. “We wanted to make sure our store blended in with everything that already existed there. The country store offers plenty of gifts and unique products that appeal to everyone who may not be interested in the hemp products.”

Wendel has mobile trucks and is also a distributor of hemp products, and says it’s important for her to help her customers find what is right for their needs. She says it’s her goal to be a good steward of the hemp industry.

Edibles N More is open Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Holmes Beach officer assaulted by suspect

Holmes Beach officer assaulted by suspect

Written by Jason Schaffer on . Posted in Community News, Holmes Beach.

HOLMES BEACH – A man was arrested for resisting an officer with violence and transported to the Manatee County Jail after injuring a city police officer at a shopping plaza, according to a police report.

The incident occurred on Oct. 20 at around 2:05 a.m. While patrolling a shopping plaza in the 3300 block of East Bay Drive, Officer Andrew Adkins said he saw a man standing next to the door of Cheesecake Cutie and Cafe.

“Upon sight of my marked patrol vehicle, he began walking away from the door,” Adkins said in his report. “I turned around and got out with the subject, later identified as Kevin McNamara, on the sidewalk of the restaurant. It should be noted I was in full police uniform. I asked him what he was doing, and he explained he was walking home from work and stopped to meet with a friend. I looked and did not see anyone else.”

Adkins said he tried to explain to McNamara, 35, of Sarasota, that what he was doing was suspicious since all of the businesses in the plaza were closed and the area was private property. McNamara argued that it was public property, and he had a right to be there, becoming agitated, according to the report.

When asked for his ID, McNamara began searching through a bag but became more agitated and eventually threw the bag at Adkins and told him to find it. Adkins dumped the contents of the bag on a table and, while doing so, McNamara approached him, becoming more agitated as he was told to stand back.

“I tried to get him to step back but he took a slightly bladed stance, clinched his fists, and got less than a foot away from me. Kevin was visibly angry and told me twice to ‘do something, bro,’ ” Adkins wrote in his report. “At this point, I felt that violence against me was about to take place, so I told him he was under arrest. Kevin turned around and I went to put his hands behind his back, but he quickly spun back around towards me and punched me on my left side. I grabbed ahold of Kevin to try and gain control, but he also grabbed ahold of me. I struggled to get control of him because he was also trying to control me, and we fell to the ground.”

McNamara refused to comply with orders to stop resisting arrest, according to the report. Another office arrived at the scene and the two officers were able to get McNamara in handcuffs. In McNamara’s bag, the officers found his ID along with two hypodermic syringes and two knives.

Adkins sustained injuries including lacerations to his head and neck.

McNamara requested medics for a high heart rate that he felt was getting worse, so Manatee County EMS was called. EMS came and cleared him, and he refused further treatment.

State orders immediate AMI consolidation study

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Anna Maria Island, Community News, Featured.

ANNA MARIA ISLAND – Mayors in the three Island cities received a trick on Halloween in the form of a letter from the Florida Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA). The Oct. 31 letter states that the Florida Legislature has directed the organization to begin reviewing the potential consolidation of services and government entities on Anna Maria Island.

The OPPAGA study is expected to begin immediately.

While Mayor Dan Murphy of Anna Maria declined to comment on the study and Mayor John Chappie of Bradenton Beach was unable to comment due to illness, Mayor Judy Titsworth of Holmes Beach spoke to The Sun concerning the pending study.

“I’m feeling really threatened,” Titsworth said. “I’m not concerned about the city of Holmes Beach’s worthiness to be a city. I feel the city will show when audited that we have every right to be a city. We’re thriving. We didn’t ask for this study and neither did the residents. It’s not supposed to be government from the top down, it’s supposed to be a government for the people, by the people and that’s not what’s happening in this case. We didn’t ask for this.”

The study into whether or not certain services among the three Island cities should be consolidated or the cities themselves merged into one came about as a result of a Manatee County legislative delegation meeting in January in which delegation members brought up consolidation without warning to the three Island governments.

Legislators have since demanded that the three mayors work to consolidate services themselves. In the past, Titsworth said she’s hosted regular meetings of the three Island mayors and that some efforts to standardize services across the Island have been made. During an October legislative delegation meeting, neither consolidation nor the pending study was mentioned.

As the study progresses, representatives from OPPAGA are expected to meet with city leaders and staff in each Island city. Items ranging from tax rates to expenses, staff numbers, services offered, utilities, infrastructure, number of voters and number of residents are all expected to be analyzed during the study.

While most OPPAGA studies are conducted at the request of a municipality’s residents or government leaders, this one was requested by state leaders. And though it’s not common, state leaders have the ability to present a bill to the Legislature for a vote to consolidate the three Island cities without the input of city leaders, property owners or voters.

Typically a municipality is only dissolved at the state level when the city is insolvent or the level of residents has dropped to such a small number that it can’t sustain the city’s government. Titsworth said that Holmes Beach doesn’t suffer from either problem. She added that she also believes the cities of Anna Maria and Bradenton Beach are still strong despite a recent lack of people running for office in those municipalities.

“No one wants to lose their incorporation,” she said, adding that she plans to show her city’s strengths at every turn during the auditing process. “The best thing we can do right now is work harder to prove them (state leaders) wrong and show the strength of the community and city.”

Manatee County Sheriff's Office

Attacker in 2022 Holmes Beach battery sentenced

Written by Jason Schaffer on . Posted in Community News, Holmes Beach.

HOLMES BEACH – After a year and a half, a second attacker in a 2022 battery case has been sentenced to prison.

On Oct. 12, Judge Stephen Whyte of Manatee County’s Twelfth Judicial Circuit Court sentenced John William Bartholow, 18, of Ellenton, to three years in state prison along with one year of community control and six years of probation following his release. He also was sentenced to 16 weeks of anger management classes, substance abuse and mental health evaluations and treatment and 100 hours of public service work for his role in the March 23, 2022 attack on Evan Purcell, 41, at Anna Maria Elementary School. He must also write a letter of apology to the victim.

Bartholow pled no contest to the felony charge of aggravated battery with great bodily harm.

Attacker in 2022 Holmes Beach battery sentenced
Bartholow

Purcell, a Holmes Beach resident, was walking his dog with his 10-year-old niece when he came upon some teenagers breaking bottles, drinking alcohol and vandalizing AME property. According to police, Purcell yelled at the group to stop what they were doing, resulting in the group of teens becoming aggressive. Although Purcell waved a pocketknife as he feared for his safety, it was not a deterrent. He was knocked to the ground and beaten with a wooden object, possibly a skateboard.

Bartholow was one of three suspects arrested in the attack. Cameron Evans, 20, of Sarasota, was given a similar sentence last March. The identity of the juvenile involved in the attack was not released.

Bartholow was also convicted of felony criminal mischief in a separate case, and has nine unrelated criminal charges pending for burglary and attempted burglary of an unoccupied conveyance.

Since the incident, several security measures have been put in place at Anna Maria Elementary to deter loitering on school grounds after hours. Locking gates have been installed at all vehicle entrances and “No Beach Parking” signs have been posted to keep the lots clear during the day.

Holmes Beach man pleads for the return of stolen lighthouse

Holmes Beach resident searches for stolen lighthouse

Written by Jason Schaffer on . Posted in Community News, Holmes Beach.

HOLMES BEACH – A local is asking for the public’s help after a decorative lighthouse that he calls a family heirloom was stolen from his yard. Wayne Giordano, a New York native, brought the lighthouse with him when his family bought their home on the corner of 36th Street and Gulf Drive.

“We don’t live here full-time and rent our house to tourists sometimes when we’re not here,” Giordano said. “When the lighthouse disappeared we actually didn’t have anyone renting the house. It went missing the last week of September into the first week of October, but I have no way of knowing exactly what day.”

Giordano says the lighthouse is about four feet tall, rotates and is electrically powered, shining a light as it rotates. He says due to the size and weight, the person who took it would have most likely needed a truck, as it would be difficult to fit it in an average car. 

“The lighthouse has been in the family for 15 to 20 years,” Giordano said. “I had it in my home in the Catskill Mountains and, when we bought here in 2016, I brought it down 2,000 miles. We have a lot of good family memories, it reminds us of good times. It’s not about the thousand dollars we paid for it; it’s all about the memories.”

Giordano says when he put it on the corner, he didn’t want the light to bother anyone, including wildlife, so he put it on a timer to only run a few hours after sunset and changed the 40-watt bulb to a 15-watt. There were never any complaints from neighbors. A police report was filed with Holmes Beach Police but no suspect has been identified.

Giordano is offering a $250 reward for the return of the lighthouse. He says no questions will be asked and no charges will be pressed if the lighthouse is returned. He just wants the lighthouse returned safely. Anyone with information on the whereabouts of the lighthouse is asked to call 917-842-0670. Anonymous calls are welcome. 

Volunteers replace sea oats

Volunteers replace sea oats

Written by Leslie Lake on . Posted in Environment, Outdoors.

HOLMES BEACH – More than 40 volunteers planted 1,000 sea oats on Saturday, replacing those that were lost during Hurricane Idalia’s high tides.

Sea oats were lost when Anna Maria Island was hit with storm surge and high winds in the Aug. 31 hurricane.

Keep Manatee Beautiful (KMB) led the volunteer effort with a financial contribution of $5,000 from the City of Holmes Beach and direct assistance from the City’s Code Enforcement division, KMB Executive Director Jennifer Hoffman said.

Volunteers gathered at the 52nd Street entrance to the beach at 8 a.m. and within an hour, the sea oats had been planted.

“One thousand plants, 42 volunteers and done in less than an hour,” she said.

Sea oats are a perennial grass that play a vital role in shoreline protection.

“Sand dunes and sea oats are natural barriers against storm surge and they did their job by breaking up the wind and surf and bracing against storm surge,” Hoffman said. “But large portions of sand dunes and sea oats washed away as tides receded. Holmes Beach officials and I spotted those losses early on and decided to do something about it.”

“Sea oat is an extremely valuable plant for coastline and barrier island protection,” according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. (USDA). “Its massive root system is capable of holding soil and sand in place during extreme weather events.”

Holmes Beach proposes multimodal path to TDC

Holmes Beach proposes multimodal path to TDC

Written by Jason Schaffer on . Posted in Community News, Holmes Beach.

BRADENTON – Holmes Beach Superintendent of Public Works and City Engineer Sage Kamiya was back in front of the Manatee County Tourist Development Council (TDC) at its Oct. 16 meeting. Kamiya appeared to answer questions and concerns brought up by TDC members after his initial presentation requesting tourist tax funding for a city-long multimodal path at an Aug. 21 meeting.

Kamiya noted that there is a path for walkers and bicyclists that runs along a portion of Marina Drive, but it needs improvement. The proposed new path would begin around the 2800 block of Gulf Drive and continue almost the entire length of the city to where Gulf Drive and Marina Drive merge in the 8000 block. The proposal calls for the path to be separated from the road by a grassy buffer area to keep people using the path further separated from the road, improving safety.

Connecting the path to the city’s 30 beach access points is also part of the plan, which would begin with the 65th and 66th Street access points near the center of the city. The city would also like to see the installation of educational signs along the path, allowing users to learn about the wildlife they may encounter, such as shorebirds and sea turtles, as well as Island flora.

The budget estimate for the entire project totals $2,436,727 with half of the money going to the Gulf Drive path improvements, $1,293,238. The remainder would be designated for Marina Drive path improvements, engineering design, flashing crosswalks and educational signage. Although the plan is ambitious, Kamiya told the TDC that it would be implemented in phases, with the first phase focusing on the city center area on both Gulf Drive and Marina Drive. The phase one estimate is $1,133,401, with $399,460 coming from the city and the remaining $733,948 being requested from the TDC.

The TDC’s recommendation of whether or not to allocate funds collected through the 5% tourist “bed tax” on vacation rental units for projects such as this often leads to county commissioners’ approval.

Rather than approve or deny the funding at the Aug. 21 meeting, the TDC unanimously chose to have the matter brought to the Oct.16 meeting in hopes of getting answers to questions multiple board members had, such as whether or not the path would eliminate public parking spots, and more specific answers as to which side of the street the path would be and a more specific timeline, among other concerns and questions.

Kamiya confirmed that no part of the project would take away public parking spaces, something more than one TDC member showed concern about at the Aug. 21 presentation, nor would any future phases. He also assured the TDC that the city would seek other funding sources for future phases.

Bradenton Mayor Gene Brown echoed concerns he had at the Aug. 21 meeting regarding the multi-phase proposal.

“Sometimes I’m not in favor of projects being done in phases, because sometimes the next phase doesn’t get done,” Brown said. “I don’t think you addressed that. What was that million dollars you were talking about?”

“The city did receive a Resilient Florida grant to look at the entire Gulf Drive that could include funding a path,” Kamiya responded. “We are not just here holding our hands out asking for funds. We are looking at every case we can to get as much done as we can.”

After a lengthy discussion on the multimodal path project, a motion to defer to the Dec. 4 TDC meeting was passed unanimously.

Memorial honors domestic violence victim

Memorial honors domestic violence victim

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria Island, Community News, Featured.

HOLMES BEACH – In 2012, Holmes Beach resident Jamie Kimble was murdered at a Tampa
intersection during an act of domestic violence. She was shot by an ex-boyfriend, who took his own life a short time later.

Memorial honors domestic violence victim
Jamie Kimble often visited the beach near where her memorial now stands. – Kimble family | Submitted

On Thursday, Oct. 19, Jamie’s parents, Jan and Ron Kimble, dedicated a memorial in her honor at the beach access point at 72nd Street in Holmes Beach. The Kimbles live in Charlotte, N.C. and own a second home in Holmes Beach.

Oct. 19 was Purple Thursday, a national day of action taking place each October during Domestic Violence Awareness Month. On that day, people are encouraged to wear purple as a symbol of domestic violence awareness.

The city-approved memorial features two large rocks with plaques embedded in them, two engraved benches and three painted poles connected by rope. One plaque says, “This beachside oasis is dedicated in loving memory of Holmes Beach resident Jamie Kristine Kimble, a beautiful courageous woman. May her spirit continue to live on to help others avoid the ravages of domestic and dating violence. Love you more, sweet Jamie!”

Memorial honors domestic violence victim
Engraved in a large rock, this plaque is dedicated to Jamie Kimble. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

The other plaque says, “If you or someone you know is being victimized by domestic violence, these resources can help. For warning signs, go to JKFFC.org. 24 Hour Domestic Violence Hotline 1-800-799-7233. For help without saying a word, text ‘Survivor’ to 69922.”

Memorial honors domestic violence victim
This plaque provides guidance for domestic abuse and violence victims. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

Inscribed in the benches are the words “Love,” “Resilience,” “Courage,” “Healing,” “Hope” and “Justice.” Placed in front of the large rocks and benches were small rocks painted by part-time Island resident Marilia Clark, who also painted the memorial poles. The rocks contained messages that included “Stop Domestic Violence. Speak Up.” Two ladybug figurines were placed on the benches symbolizing Jamie’s love for ladybugs.

Memorial honors domestic violence victim
This painted rock carries a powerful message. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

The dozen or so people who attended the ceremony included family members, friends, the detective who worked Jamie’s homicide case, the off-duty police officer who was the last to see her alive and an Indianapolis couple who lost two daughters in the same act of domestic violence.

Memorial honors domestic violence victim
Family members, friends and others helped commemorate the Jamie Kimble memorial. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

During his opening remarks, Ron said, “This is a special memorial for Jamie, but it’s for victims everywhere. It’s also for the community at large. This is a special place. Jamie lived at 306 B 72nd Street. She ran on the beach, she laid on the beach and she would enter the beach at this very location.”

Memorial honors domestic violence victim
Jan and Ron Kimble spoke during the Oct. 19 memorial dedication ceremony. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

Jan mentioned the Jamie Kimble Foundation for Courage they founded after Jamie’s death and said, “We didn’t want this to happen to any other family – to have to deal with the loss and the grief. Our goal is to see a future without domestic violence.”

Holmes Beach City Commissioner Terry Schaefer said, “The Kimble family and our staff succeeded in creating this beautiful and meaningful tribute to their loving daughter Jamie. We are saddened as a city that one of our own could be taken as a victim of domestic violence.”

Char Young, executive director of Hope Family Services, said, “I would like to say their story is unique. The unfortunate reality is, it isn’t.”

Young noted that Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody visited the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office on Oct. 12 in recognition of Domestic Violence Awareness Month and announced the expansion of Project Protect into Manatee and Hardee counties. Project Protect provides free doorbell cameras to survivors of domestic violence to help them feel more secure.

Parents’ worst nightmare

Two days before the memorial dedication, Jan and Ron spoke about their only child, her life, her death and the recovery process that followed.

From 2008 to 2011, the Kimble family spent many holidays on Anna Maria Island. In 2017, after Jamie’s death, Jan and Ron bought their Holmes Beach home.

Memorial honors domestic violence victim
Jan, Jamie and Ron Kimble enjoyed many Anna Maria Island vacations together. – Kimble family | Submitted

Jamie graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. After moving from Orlando, she lived in Holmes Beach for six months while working for the Charlotte-based Coca-Cola Consolidated company. She’d just been promoted and was preparing to move to Dallas, Texas.

Three and a half months before her death, Jamie broke up with her longtime boyfriend, Luis Roberson Rodriguez. He’d moved to Kansas City for a job but Jamie wanted to stay with Coca-Cola Consolidated, work in Dallas for a year or two and work her way back to Charlotte.

“They had broken up five, six, seven times before in the six years they were together. He was never physically abusive that we know of but there was a lot of emotional, psychological, mental abuse and jealous rage,” Ron said.

According to Ron, Rodriguez drove from Kansas City to Orlando to retrieve his gun from his parents’ house. He then drove to the Tampa airport and waited for Jamie to return from a Labor Day weekend trip to England.

“He was there in baggage claim waiting for her. He convinced her that he would take her to the hotel in Tampa where she was staying to work her territory the next day,” Ron said.

A short time later, they were both dead.

“The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department showed up at our door at midnight and told us our daughter had been killed by her ex-boyfriend. I can’t tell you the amount of grief, horror, shock, sorrow and sadness those words brought,” Ron said.

“It was like it wasn’t happening, like it couldn’t be real,” Jan said.

“Now, our grief is not as much grief now as it is sorrow; and the grief isn’t as raw. While we silently grieve, we celebrate Jamie’s life,” Ron said.

“We miss her every day. We talk about Jamie so people remember her and know her. We share her story to help others who may be in abusive relationships. We want them to realize if Jamie could lose her life, it could happen to you as well,” Jan said.

Memorial honors domestic violence victim
The Jamie Kimble Memorial is located at the 72nd Street beach access. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
Commissioners discuss eroding wetlands protections

Commissioners discuss eroding wetlands protections

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Community News, Featured, Holmes Beach.

HOLMES BEACH – Despite the recent Manatee County Commission vote to reduce wetland buffers, a city building official says it won’t be as easy as putting a shovel in the ground to build near wetlands.

Holmes Beach commissioners met on Oct. 10 to discuss the reduction in wetland buffers as part of a larger discussion on building standards and state legislative priorities.

Building Official Neal Schwartz kicked off the conversation by noting that just because the size of the protective buffer zones has been reduced by the county to lesser state levels, it doesn’t mean people can start building in wetland areas.

In Anna Maria Island’s largest city, he said that before any building near wetlands can begin, plans must first be approved by the city. In addition, he said the Florida Department of Environmental Protection also would have to approve the plans.

“Even though it’s allowed to be built on, it’s the Department of Environmental Protection that’s going to give us our final say so,” Schwartz said.

Because of the work that city leaders have done to help protect wetlands and reduce the flood risk to properties, he said the city is now rated a FEMA category five and should receive that flood plain designation within the next two months. Property owners can contact their flood insurance companies to get an added discount on their policies that he said could be retroactive to the date the designation was awarded. Once he receives more information, Schwartz said he would add it to the city’s website.

Commissioner Terry Schaefer said that in light of the recent county decision on wetland buffers, he added protection of wetlands to the list of state legislative priorities for the city. Unfortunately, he said, he’s seen no action on behalf of the five-member Manatee County Legislative Delegation to move on any of the city’s legislative priorities since he’s been on the city commission.

Other items on the list include protection of home rule, restrictions on vacation rentals and addressing water quality concerns.

Lawmakers go silent on consolidation

Lawmakers go silent on consolidation

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Anna Maria Island, Community News, Featured.

BRADENTON – The Manatee County Legislative Delegation did not address their plans for a consolidation study of Anna Maria Island cities as expected at an Oct. 5 meeting, the deadline they set for the three Island mayors to respond to their September request for information on the issue.

All three mayors sent their responses prior to Oct. 5 and the study was expected to be a topic of conversation at the meeting, held at Bradenton City Hall.

However, participants made no mention of the proposed state study on the consolidation of the three Island cities into a single municipal government. A September letter from Sen. Jim Boyd (R-Bradenton) and Rep. Will Robinson (R-Bradenton) to the mayors said that the state lawmakers expected a response before the Oct. 5 meeting from each of them on how they were working together to consolidate services, or they would go forward with demanding a consolidation study.

Each mayor responded that while they are in favor of the proposed study if its results would help reduce the burden on taxpayers, they were not in favor of consolidation.

The city of Holmes Beach was the only Island city with representation at the meeting. Attending were Mayor Judy Titsworth, Commissioner Terry Schaefer and City Attorney Erica Augello. When it was time to speak, Schaefer took to the podium to discuss the importance of home rule.

“Over the past three years alone, 81 bills have been passed by the Legislature that have critically diluted home rule,” Schaefer said. “We have had our differences with you over two home rule issues recently, however, we are encouraged by the process and sincere discussions occurring with your leadership and the Island’s three mayors. We all hope to produce the best outcome for Island residents, visitors and stakeholders and appreciate the opportunity to work with you in earnest.”

The only member of the delegation to speak to Schaefer’s comments was Boyd. He said that while he agrees with Schaefer’s statements on home rule, the place where the two differ is on the governance of land use.

During a meeting held in January, the delegation brought up the consolidation study and voted in favor of it.

They also presented a local bill to allow Manatee County to build a three-story parking garage at Manatee Beach in Holmes Beach against the city’s land development code and local ordinances. That bill passed at the state level during the 2023 legislative session and gained Gov. Ron DeSantis’s signature despite local opposition.

Commissioners consider going vertical in Seaside Gardens

Commissioners consider going vertical in Seaside Gardens

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Community News, Holmes Beach.

HOLMES BEACH – It’s been more than two months since commissioners first began their discussion on whether or not to allow property owners in Seaside Gardens to raise their ground floor homes above the flood plain level. Now it seems they may have reached a decision.

During a Sept. 26 meeting, commissioners voted unanimously to approve the first reading of an ordinance allowing property owners to raise the ground-level structures that characterize the waterfront neighborhood – the catch is that they can only do so if the home was involuntarily damaged.

If the new ordinance passes a second and final reading at an upcoming meeting, Seaside Gardens owners will be able to raise their units to or above the current flood plain level, but only if the unit is involuntarily damaged by 50% or more of the townhome’s market value by fire, flood, windstorm or other similar event. Property owners will not be able to simply choose to raise the structure.

If the unit is damaged, when reconstructed it will have to meet or exceed the current elevation requirements, the ground floor will have to be converted to non-habitable space and the existing floorplan cannot be increased.

The decision comes after work session discussions in which Mayor Judy Titsworth and commissioners heard from several residents and property owners in the small neighborhood, part of which fronts a canal. While some property owners felt they should be able to choose to build their properties up, others said it would change the character of the neighborhood and reduce the quality of life for adjoining residents.

All of the properties in Seaside Gardens have at least one wall that adjoins another property, with some being duplex units and others townhouses in buildings with three or more units. During discussions, Commissioner Pat Morton, who lives in Seaside Gardens, said he was not in favor of allowing property owners to choose to raise their properties to a second story because of the issues neighbors would face including construction noise and possible damage to their units. Under the new ordinance, property owners who raise their units must make sure that the construction doesn’t damage adjacent properties or cause those property owners to not be able to elevate their own units at some point in the future if necessary.

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Holmes Beach mayor responds to consolidation threat

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Community News, Holmes Beach.

HOLMES BEACH – City leaders are making sure that state leaders know where they stand on the idea of consolidating the three Anna Maria Island cities.

Prior to an upcoming Manatee County Legislative Delegation meeting planned for Thursday, Oct. 5, Rep. Will Robinson Jr. (R-Manatee) and Sen. Jim Boyd (R-Manatee) sent out a letter warning the mayors of all three Island cities that if they don’t have a proposal for how the three municipalities can better work together, the state leaders would be seeking a state-funded and run study to determine if the cities should be consolidated into a single municipality.

Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth responded individually to both legislators on behalf of the city in letters dated Sept. 26. During a meeting on the same day, she added that she’d also spoken with Boyd on Sept. 22 and felt that they’d had a productive discussion.

Titsworth said that while city leaders are not in opposition to the study if it is used to find ways to reduce the tax burden on residents, they’re not in favor of using it as a means of paving the way toward consolidation of the three Island cities. While the cities share a single 7-mile island, she said they each have their own character that charms both residents and visitors alike.

She added that during her discussion with Boyd, she apprised him of the steps the leaders of all three Island cities are taking toward making processes more streamlined across the board, such as the building permitting process and the efforts they’re making to work together to consolidate some other processes.

While state leaders had made suggestions such as combining law enforcement, public works and building department efforts into a single department across the Island instead of one for each city, there are currently no plans to integrate any of those departments into one.

Market in the eye of the beholder

Written by Louise Bolger on . Posted in Business, Castles in the Sand.

To some people, our national real estate market is downright awful, but to others, it may be the best of real estate times. It’s all in the eye of the beholder.

Don’t believe everything you read and, believe me, I read it all. Yes, it’s true that buyers, especially first-time buyers, are having a terrible time finding an affordable house. Yes, indeed, sellers aren’t moving out of their 1,200-square-foot starter house because they have a 3% mortgage. But it’s also true that sellers who want to sell are in a pretty darn good financial position and they’re as happy as can be.

Home prices were declining for five consecutive months but all of that has reversed itself quicker than the housing economists expected. The surprisingly quick recovery suggests that the residential real estate downturn is turning out to be shorter than many housing economists expected. Even if the number of sales keeps going down, sale prices are unlikely to fall significantly. In popular regions, including Florida, bidding wars are breaking out again, reliving the insanity of the 2021 market.

A byproduct of higher selling prices and fewer sales is, of course, the fear of low appraisals. If the buyer is planning on obtaining a mortgage based on the contract price the lender will be looking for a satisfactory appraisal for at least the purchase price. If the appraisal comes in too low, that will affect the loan-to-value ratio and could easily sink the transaction.

Sellers in today’s competitive market may remove the appraisal contingency from the contract. This means that no matter the amount of the appraisal, the buyer is legally bound to complete the transaction and better have the additional cash available.

Facing a low appraisal in an escalating market is not uncommon and can be a shock to buyers. Again, they will need to come up with more cash to close the gap to proceed with the transaction. Parties to the transaction like the broker and/or attorney can ask for consideration on the appraisal if they determine that one or more of the comparable properties were not valid, however, getting appraisers to change appraisals is nearly impossible.

Time to look at Manatee County’s August sales as reported by the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee for the month of August:

Single-family homes closed 6.9% more than last August. The median sale price was $525,000, the same as last August. The average sale price was $715,711, up 9.2% from last year. The median time to contract was 33 days, compared to 13 days last year. The month’s supply of properties was 2.8 months, compared to 2.5 last year.

Condos closed 0.8% less than last August. The median sale price was $358,990, up 1.8% from last year. The average sale price was $393,727, down 2.6% from last year. The median time to contract was 50 days, compared to 13 last year. The month’s supply of properties was 3.3 months, compared to 1.8 months.

The Realtor Association feels that our prices are steady, and Florida is enduring in its desirability among out-of-staters. The fact that new listings and pending inventory are up for both single-family and condos is encouraging. Single-family had 8.6% new listings and 8.4% pending inventory. Condos had 18% new listings and pending inventory at 16.1%.

My eye beholds further adjustments, not a downturn, and once buyers get comfortable with 7.5% interest rates, they will forget all about the 3% their friends have. This is the way the economy rolls; it can’t be timed, it can only be faced head-on.

Holmes Beach Commissioners approve budget first reading

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Community News, Holmes Beach.

HOLMES BEACH – The city’s new budget and millage rate has received unanimous support from commissioners during an initial public hearing and vote.

Despite Commissioner Terry Schaefer’s absence, city commissioners had no trouble getting the two items passed during a Sept. 16 meeting.

The proposed millage rate was dropped to 2.05 mills, a reduction from the previous year’s 2.15 millage rate but still 12.18% higher than the 1.873 mills rollback rate. The millage rate is the rate charged per $1,000 of assessed property value for city taxes. The rollback rate is the millage rate that would bring in the same amount of revenue as the previous year.

“I don’t know how you all did it,” Commissioner Carol Soustek said. “The quality of services that people expect here are high and you kind of have to keep that up. But you all have just done a phenomenal job. It got lower than I thought it would go,” she said of the millage rate.

Soustek said that she hopes property owners understand that by lowering the millage rate from the previous year, commissioners provided a tax cut even though the city’s ad valorem tax revenue actually did go up due to an increase in property values. She added that it was unfortunate that the price tag has increased for city property owners, however, she added that increases across the board in costs make it impossible for the city to use the rollback rate to bring in a lower amount of tax revenue.

Commissioner Greg Kerchner asked if language could be added to the millage rate ordinance that explains how the tax rate works, but the idea was shot down by City Attorney Erica Augello who said it would be inappropriate to add such wording to an ordinance.

The budget presented during the first budget hearing totals $25,121,957 including $10,960,076 in reserves. The city treasurer noted that with a modest increase in reserves, Holmes Beach will have 24.5% in unrestricted reserves, just under the recommended 25% in unrestricted reserves recommended for coastal cities. The unrestricted reserves are used to run the city in case of an emergency, such as a hurricane, if the tax base for Holmes Beach is decimated. The funds also can be used to help cover unexpected expenses throughout the year with commission approval.

There was no public comment offered during the meeting.

The public has one more chance to weigh in on the budget before commissioners vote on it again. A final budget public hearing and vote is scheduled on Tuesday, Sept. 26 at 5 p.m. at city hall, 5801 Marina Drive. While meetings can be viewed online, anyone who wants to speak must appear in person in commission chambers.

The 2023-24 fiscal year begins Oct. 1.